Transport Infrastructure (Nottingham)

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very grateful for this opportunity to raise issues that concern not only my constituents but the wider Greater Nottingham conurbation and our region. May I say what a pleasure it is to see you in the Chair today? I also thank my hon. Friends the Members for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) and for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) for coming along to lend me their support.

Nottingham is very fortunate to have one of the best integrated transport systems in the country, but that did not happen by chance. It happened because there was political will, because the city council worked closely with partners in the county and with local businesses, seeking to build consensus wherever possible, and because we are fortunate to have great people working in the city to deliver our collective vision.

Indeed, the Department for Transport has designated Nottingham as a centre of excellence for local transport delivery. More recently, the council received a comprehensive area assessment green flag for public transport improvement and was described as “getting better and better”. However, it is not those warm words that I want the Minister to attend to today, but the real achievements that make Nottingham’s case for further investment compelling.

Over the past five years, Nottingham has contained traffic growth and congestion levels. There has been increased public transport use, fatal and serious accidents have been reduced and we have encouraged many more people to walk or cycle rather than to jump in their cars. I am proud of our record, but we know that there is still much more to do if we are to have a transport system that is fit for purpose in the years ahead—one that supports economic growth rather than hampers it and encourages greener, eco-friendly choices.

When it comes to investment in infrastructure, short-termism just will not do. We have to think and plan for the long term, and that is why Nottingham has been developing three key capital projects to make the city an even better place to live and work, to attract inward investment, to create jobs and to get the local economy moving. These projects will regenerate neighbourhoods, link socially disadvantaged communities with training and job opportunities, improve the environment and cut carbon emissions. I know that they are not just objectives that the Minister will welcome but the stated priorities of the coalition Government, so I am very hopeful that he will give a positive response.

Let me say a bit more about the three projects on which I am anxious that he should focus. The A453 links Nottingham to the M1, the A50 and East Midlands airport. It is the main trunk road from Nottingham to Birmingham and is a vital link in our transport network. According to the most recent data, the A453 is the most congested road in the country. Delays are particularly bad at peak times and the 9-mile stretch between Nottingham and Kegworth is rated as the worst section of the national strategic road network, with the average vehicle delay doubling in the last five years. Delays can be expected of almost 15 minutes per 10 miles travelled outbound and more than 10 minutes per 10 miles travelled inbound. In 2007, the East Midlands Development Agency commissioned a study that found that the cost of congestion to Nottingham businesses came to £160 million a year, so it is no surprise that three years ago partners in the region agreed that it was the top priority for regional funding allocation. That was confirmed again in 2009.

There is also a human cost to the congestion. Driving through Clifton, one sees far too many flowers at the roadside that are a reminder of the A453’s terrible safety record: accidents are 33% higher than the national average for rural roads and 23% higher than the national average for urban roads. Between 2003 and 2007, there were 167 personal injury accidents of which two were fatal and 31 serious. Residents and business leaders, city councillors, district councillors and county councillors, and Members on both sides of the House all agree that the A453 desperately needs improvement.

Nottingham has been waiting almost 30 years for something to be done. The latest scheme will provide a “civilised road”—one that provides extra capacity, but is sensitive to the needs of Clifton residents who live alongside it. Planned improvements have been delayed twice before and we need it more than ever—so please, Minister, do not disappoint us again.

I read in the Nottingham Post that the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) has already, as he put it, “had a go” at the Secretary of State for Transport regarding this matter. I hope that the Minister will work with his colleagues in the transport team to secure the scheme’s future and, if necessary, to make representations to the Treasury on behalf not just of the 270,000 people who live in the city or the 750,000-plus people in Nottingham’s travel-to-work area, but of the people who will be filling the 20,000 new science and technology jobs that we hope will be created in the city by 2020.

The second element of Nottingham’s plan for a modern, integrated transport network that I want to raise with the Minister is Nottingham express transit phase 2—turning our tramline into a tram network. Tramline one opened in 2004, and its success has exceeded expectations, attracting 10 million passengers a year. Yes, it required considerable investment, and, yes, the construction work was disruptive, but I urge the Minister to come for a ride across Nottingham on the tram to see at first hand what a difference it has made. I urge him to come and see the park-and-ride sites, including those at Phoenix park and Forest recreation ground, which are full to bursting every day. Some 3 million car journeys have been removed from the city’s roads and there has been a 30% increase in public transport use in the north-west corridor of the city. I like our buses, and they are a vital part of the mix, but on their own they cannot achieve that level of modal shift—getting people out of their cars and on to public transport. For the A453 scheme really to work, even with a widened A453, we need a significant proportion of the people who are coming towards the city to transfer to public transport at a park-and-ride site on the edge of Clifton.

I urge the Minister also to come and see the regeneration, inward investment and sustainable development that have been achieved along the line one route. Perhaps he will even share my enjoyment regarding the inspiration it has provided to small local businesses. I admit that every time I pass the snack bar in Hyson Green called Tramwiches, it makes me smile.

[Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend mentions Hyson Green in my constituency. Does she agree that as phase 2 of the tram project is a private finance initiative, funded in part not so much by grant but by revenues generated from some quite tough decisions having been taken about workplace parking levies and so forth, it is potentially less burdensome on public borrowing levels because of the re-phasing potential? As a consequence, it might be a good candidate when ranked against other schemes that the Minister is considering.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for that helpful intervention.

NET phase 2 received approval because it will deliver for the city and the conurbation. It will take a further 3 million car journeys off our roads and will provide at least 50% of the additional capacity needed to avoid the transport gap that threatens the economic vitality of the conurbation. There will be 2,500 extra park-and-ride spaces, better integration with the railway station and hugely improved access to and from the south and west of the conurbation. It will link people, some of whom live in wards in which 60% of the population do not have access to a car, with the Queen’s medical centre, which is the city’s main hospital, as well as with both our universities, with local college campuses and with 2,000 workplaces, including 20 of the city’s 30 largest employers. It will also promote equality of opportunity, as line one has done, by improving transport access for the elderly, the disabled and those on low incomes.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady please explain which wards in the city council will benefit from the tram but are those in which she says 60% of people do not have access to public transport?

[Lilian Greenwood]

The wards are those such as Clifton South in the city and places such as the Meadows, which I wanted to talk about. The Meadows and Clifton are two areas of my constituency that suffer from significant social disadvantage, including high unemployment, low skills and low educational attainment. Clifton also has a disproportionate number of pensioner households and a large retirement village. The tram will transform those communities, regenerating their neighbourhood centres and offering full accessibility for people with mobility difficulties, including wheelchair and motorised scooter users, and it will provide a vital link to workplaces and training providers. But most importantly, it will bring jobs. The Centre for Economic and Business Research projected that between 4,000 and 10,000 new jobs would be created by NET phase 2. All this, and a hugely positive impact on the environment—cleaner air and a healthy cut in carbon emissions—make this scheme well worth investing in and excellent value for money.

I am delighted to know that the Minister is a fan of light rail, and I know that he is fully briefed on Nottingham’s tram. I certainly welcomed his comments earlier in the week at the parliamentary tea for light rail when he said that local funding was a matter for local people. He knows that the local funding for Nottingham is secure. The mechanism is in place. So I hope that he will give his backing and the backing of his Department for this exciting expansion of light rail in the UK.

Last but not least, I want to draw the Minister’s attention to the Nottingham hub—the £67 million station improvement project to be jointly delivered by the city council and Network Rail to transform our railway station into the sort of modern transport interchange that the city needs. Everything is in place between the city council and Network Rail. The only piece of the jigsaw that is in doubt is the contribution from East Midlands Development Agency. We in Nottingham value EMDA and the important role that it has played in the city and the region. Securing its future is a discussion for another day, but we hope that the changes to regional development agencies will not be allowed to undermine this project and the opportunity to create a wonderful new entrance to the city.

Earlier this week the Prime Minister spoke about the review of spending commitments and said:

“Projects that are good value for money and consistent with the Government’s priorities will go ahead.”—[Official Report, 16 June 2010; Vol. 511, c. 868.]

I know that we in Nottingham can demonstrate that our plans meet this test. Can we afford to go ahead with these schemes? The real question is, “Can we afford not to?” and the answer is most definitely no. These transport schemes are absolutely vital to the economy of Greater Nottingham and the East Midlands region. They will deliver on jobs, on regeneration, on cutting unemployment and on improving access to training and skills. They will help us to meet the targets for a greener low-carbon future. They represent excellent value for money. If we need to be a bit more flexible on what we are asking for, tell us. We will be, but do not leave us stuck in the slow lane when it comes to economic growth. It would be short-sighted and very costly to delay these well-thought- out, well-planned projects for the sake of small savings now.

As I draw my remarks to a close, I would like to ask the Minister the questions that people in Nottingham are asking me. Have the Government produced an analysis of the impact that delaying or cutting these projects will have on local and regional economic growth? What criteria will the government use to assess which major projects to continue funding? When will the decisions be made and who will be making those decisions?

Finally, will the Minister accept my invitation to come to Nottingham to see the congestion we face on the A453, to enjoy a trip on the tram, to look at the exciting plans for the railway station and to hear from residents, businesses and councillors from all parties about why investing in our infrastructure is vital for the future of Nottingham?